Macaulay Culkin has been experiencing a bit of a comeback recently, but it would appear as though the Home Alone star still can't escape his past. In the latest episode of Michael Rosenbaum's podcast Inside of You, Culkin was asked about his friendship with Michael Jackson. "He reached out to me because a lot of things were happening big and fast with me, and I think he identified with that," Culkin candidly explained.
"I mean at the end of the day, it’s almost easy to say it was weird or whatever, but it wasn’t, because it made sense," he continued. "We were friends. It’s one of my friendships that people question only because of the fact that he was the most famous person in the world." The two first became friend in the early '90s, with Jackson finding it easy to relate to Culkin over their child stardom.
Jackson was always in the spotlight as a child, and it wasn't that much different for Culkin, who rapidly rose to fame after appearing in films like Home Alone and Richie Rich. To this day, people still find their friendship strange due to the 22-year age gap between them. "I was a peerless person," he said. "Nobody else in my Catholic school even had this much idea of what I was going through."
During the interview, he also described Jackson as "sweet" and "gentle," while also taking a moment to highlight how "hilarious" he thought the late singer was. One of the other reasons the two got along so well, according to Culkin, is that he treated Michael Jackson as a normal person while the rest of the world saw him as this elusive figure.
"I really didn’t give a shit about famous people," he added. "I was thoroughly unimpressed by them. So when I first met him I was like, 'Oh cool, you’re that guy who sings songs. I sing songs in school. That’s great. So anyway.’ I think that’s also one of the reasons why we got along. [...] The fact that there was somebody treating him like a normal person, it really was that simple."
During the podcast, Culkin recalled prank calling people with MJ. "For me, it's so normal and mundane," he explained. "I know it's a big deal to everyone else, but to me it was a normal friendship." Listen to the full episode of the podcast here.
Culkin's interview follows his appearances in three videos on the Red Letter Media YouTube, most notably offering his appreciation of the hilariously bad '90s techno-thriller Hackers. He also dropped by Angry Video Game Nerdfor an episode where he played old Home Alone video games.
Recently it was announced that this year's Sundance Film Festival will feature the premiere of a documentary on two men who claim Michael jackson sexually abused them. The synopsis of Finding Neverland reads: “At the height of his stardom Michael Jackson began long-running relationships with two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their families. Now in their 30s, they tell the story of how they were sexually abused by Jackson, and how they came to terms with it years later.” It will also premiere on HBO and Channel 4 in the U.K. later this year.
